I started praying that prayer when I was 12. I also prayed that when I found him, I would know it.
And I did.
I was 16. A quirky, Jesus loving homeschooler from Maryland; I was finally moving past my new-girl phase and settling into youth group at Thompson Station Baptist Church when I met Hannah Spencer. We were the same age, the same grade, both homeschoolers, both new in town. We were both born in Texas, though she was raised there as well. We hit it off and we were inseparable.
She would tell me all the time about stories from her hometown, Houston. And she'd tell me how I would just love her older brother who was in college there. She wanted to fix us up. But I wasn't super interested. For one thing, the whole "still lived in Houston" thing. For another, I was waiting. Waiting for my future husband. I'd had a couple of boyfriends and that didn't really go over well. So I had my tight-knit youth group friends, guys and girls, and I was happy with that.
But he was coming for a visit and she told me she was bringing him to our weekly Bible study. I'll never forget that night. Hannah came in the door and following her was a tall, thin, 18 year old guy wearing a worn baseball hat. He had dark hair, very tan, a defined jawline and when he lifted his head I caught a peek of amazing green eyes. Then... I was interested.
We had a few interactions before he headed back home, but nothing major. I tried to dismiss it in my head simply because... well because he lived in Houston.
Then a few months later he moved here. Hm. ;)
We hung out a lot at first because he and Hannah were close. The three of us would do almost everything together.
But being the 90's and that we were church kids-- everything changed for us-- at a Newsboys concert. :) We had so much fun together. We danced and sang our hearts out... everything seemed to just click. I think that was the turning point where we both looked at one another and realized..... this is a lot more than interest.
Something bigger was going on. Something bigger than me. I was pretty sure I could see myself with him for the rest of my life. God could it be? We're so young? But neither of us dared say anything. We just enjoyed the concert, hanging out with our friends, and had so much fun together.
About a month later, a bunch of our friends were going over to our usual hangout: our friend Jen's basement. Hannah was already there so Jake picked me up alone. When I got in the car, he seemed nervous. Not his usual self. It was usually the 3 of us, never me and Jake alone, so I figured that must be it. He looked over at me several times as we drove the short drive there but didn't say much. I was my usual chatterbox self and he listened to every word. As we turned the corner before the driveway, he asked me something to the effect of, "I think I'd rather hang out, just the two of us, would you?" I told him that sounded good, so he just kept driving pass the driveway and we drove over to the Spring Hill "hill", an old battlefield site.
We parked and walked up the hill to a bench where we ended up talking for hours. It felt like talking to someone I'd known all my life. And in that conversation, we finally shared those thoughts and feelings we'd had at the concert, everything leading up to that, and where we saw ourselves in the future. So he grabbed my hands into his for the first time, and bowed his head to pray over our relationship. We both knew that there was a huge possibility that we were looking at our future spouse and it felt like Holy ground. Even at our ages we knew: when you're dealing with sacred, you stop everything and commit it in prayer.
It wasn't until several months later that we actually started "dating". I was only 16 and God was still working some things out in each of our hearts and lives. So we took our relationship slow. But from that night on the hill, we both new where we stood. God had brought us together.
When I was with him, everything seemed right. There's no other way to put it. I felt safe and loved. It felt like home.
On my 18th birthday he gave me an engagement ring. But we still knew the wait wasn't over. We were still very young and we still needed to save money.
A year and a half later, May 4th, as a nineteen year old bride, I walked down the aisle and married the man who'd stolen my heart 3 years before.
We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. One beautiful week at a bed and breakfast in Lahaina, Maui. We came home to a tiny one bedroom apartment and no money. But those were some of the richest days of my life.
Today we celebrate 10 years. And I can honestly say I'm just as in love now as I was then. If not more. Its just a deeper love now. A deeper knowing. When I fold his shirts, the smell still gives me butterflies. At least once a day I find myself missing my husband. As the sound of toys crashing around, giggles and squeals echo down the hall, and the washing machine hums... my mind trails to my husband, wondering how his day is going. "My beloved is mine, and I am his."
My goals for the next 10 years are to slow down and be intentional. Speak the love language of my husband and not just my own. Make my home a place of comfort and refuge for Jake. That the heart of my husband would trust me completely, with no lack of gain. That I would do him good and not evil all the days of my life. (Proverbs 31:11-12)
I've been praying for Jake for over half of my life. I'm so thankful that the Lord answered those first prayers and kept him for me. I'm so thankful for the last 10 years and filled with anticipation over spending the rest of our lives together. Happy Anniversary my beloved.
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